We all know it’s coming. We don’t know when or how but there is no way of getting around it. Our time on this earth will be over at some point. We will take our last breath.

What will most likely happen is that your friends and relatives will come together to celebrate your life. The pastor performing the service will probably get on stage and say something like, “We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of…..” Then what?

What will he say? What will the people there remember about you? What do you want them to say about you? I don’t think death is depressing. Some of you may be reading this post and wondering why I’m being so morbid on a Thursday morning. “Did you Russo have a bad week?  :-)” My week is going great actually!

When you run a race you think about the end because it determines how you run. That’s what I’m talking about. To run a 5k as though it were a marathon or a marathon as though it were a 5k is not optimistic or laid back….it’s stupid. Remembering and reflecting on death instructs the nature of the journey we are on.

I know what I want said about me. I do. I’ve given it a lot of thought.

Chris rested in and received God’s love for him. As an overflow of the love that was in his heart he loved God completely and the people around him as himself….starting with his wife….then his kids…then everyone else.

Something like that. The reason that it’s important to know what you want said is because it means you know what you stand for. I know what I stand for. I know what I want to live for. I know what I want to die for.

We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of….

I’ll tell you this…. I’ve gotten to perform a few funerals and I know what people won’t care about on that day. They won’t care how much money you made. They won’t care about the positions and titles you accumulated. They won’t care about the petty jealousies or silly arguments. They’ll think about your love, your character and how you impacted their lives.

Perhaps an even more important consideration is what you’ll be doing after your funeral. Life doesn’t end with the grave. Someday we’ll all give an account to God for our lives. He has given us everything we need to know this side of heaven to prepare for that day. It’s up to us to receive it though. It’s up to us to receive Him.